Welcome to Paprika Recipe Manager!

This guide will introduce you to all of the features available within Paprika. You will learn how to add recipes to Paprika, browse for recipes online, create grocery lists, make meal plans, and more.

If after reading this guide you have any questions that have not been addressed, please consult our knowledge base.

Table of Contents

Paprika is divided into six main sections, each of which is accessible by pressing the corresponding button in the main menu.

Browsing Recipes

All of your recipes are displayed on the recipes screen. The left pane displays the list of recipe categories, while the right pane shows the recipes themselves.

Note You can change the recipe view to display more recipes in a condensed list by using the toggle control in the toolbar.

Browsing by Category

All Recipes is the default selected category, which displays all of your recipes in alphabetical order. If you would like to change the selected category, simply click on a new category to highlight it.

Browsing Subcategories

Categories that have subcategories will have an expansion triangle displayed next to them. Click the triangle in order to reveal or hide the subcategories.

Searching Recipes

The recipes screen contains a search bar that you can use to search for specific recipes in your collection. Simply start typing and your recipes listing will be filtered by the search term.

By default, the search bar searches for your recipes based on the name of the recipe. You can use the dropdown on the left to change the search type between: name, source, and ingredients.

Note You can search for multiple ingredients at the same time by separating them with commas. For example: chicken, spinach.

Sorting Recipes

You can sort recipes by clicking the Sort button in the toolbar.

Currently you can sort recipes by: Name, Rating, or Most Recent.

Adding & Editing Recipes

Adding a Recipe

To add a new recipe, press the + button in the upper right hand corner of the recipes screen.

Shortcut You can also press Command-N.

An empty recipe screen will appear, allowing you to enter in the recipe information you would like to save, such as: name, difficulty, servings, prep time, cook time, source, source URL, categories, and rating.

By default, the ingredients and directions text boxes will be expanded. If you would like to add notes or nutritional info, click on their respective expansion triangles in order to reveal their text boxes.

Optionally, add a photo from your computer by pressing the Change Image button below the placeholder photo, or by dragging an image into the empty photo well.

When you're finished entering in your recipe, press the Save button to save your changes.

Editing a Recipe

You can edit a recipe by pressing the Edit button in the upper right corner of the recipe screen.

Deleting Recipes

There are several ways to delete a recipe:

From the recipes list:

1. Right-click the recipe to reveal the context menu, and then press Delete.
2. From the condensed recipe list, select one (or more) recipes in the list, and then press Delete on your keyboard.

From the recipe screen:

1. Press Actions button to reveal the recipe actions menu, and then press Delete Recipe.

Recipe Fields

These are the fields that you can enter when you create or edit a recipe:

Viewing a Recipe

From the recipes screen, click on a single recipe in the listing in order to open the recipe.

This is the main recipe view. The ingredients are displayed on the left, information about the recipe is displayed near the top, and the directions are displayed below.

Note If the recipe has a source URL, the source will be highlighted in bold. You can click on the source to load the original source URL in the browser.

Recipe Actions

The toolbar contains several actions you can perform with the recipe:

Less common actions are placed under the Actions button to the right of the other buttons.

Printing Recipes

As described above, printing is accessed via the Actions button in the recipe toolbar. There are several options you can configure for printing:

Timers

Timers are automatically detected in your recipe's directions and highlighted in blue. In order to start a timer, simply click on the highlighted time and press Start. The timer countdown will appear in the left sidebar.

Viewing timers - All of your active timers are displayed in the left sidebar.

Adding a timer manually - From the left sidebar, click the Add Timer button. You can choose a name for the timer. Once you have selected a time, press Start to begin the timer.

Removing timers - Timers are automatically removed once they have elapsed. If you would like to manually remove a timer: you can either right-click on it and press Cancel Timer, or click on the timer itself and press Edit, and then choose Delete.

Editing timers - To change the name or time of a timer, click on the timer in the timers list and press Edit. You can also pause, resume and cancel the timer from this popup, and see the remaining duration of the timer.

Scaling Ingredients

You can scale the ingredients of a recipe by clicking on the Scale 1x button next to the Ingredients heading.

When the ingredients scaling popover appears, select the amount you'd like to scale the ingredients by and they will change automatically. The scale buton will update to display the current recipe scale.

If you add a scaled recipe to the grocery list, the grocery list items will preserve the ingredients scaling.

Note Paprika anticipates this ingredient format: quantity unit ingredient, i.e. 1 cup milk. For best results, ensure your ingredients are entered in this format.

Crossing off Ingredients

When you are cooking, you may find it useful to cross off ingredients once you have used them. Simply tap the desired ingredient in order to cross it off. (Tap again to un-cross it.)

Marking Directions

You can also highlight the current step of your directions by tapping on it to help keep your place.

Pinning Recipes

You can pin active recipes to easily switch between them while you are cooking. To pin a recipe, click the Actions button in the recipe toolbar, and choose Pin Recipe.

Your pinned recipes will be displayed in the left sidebar. Click on any of these recipes to switch to them. When a recipe is pinned, Paprika will keep track of the ingredients you have crossed off and the current directions you have highlighted, so you don't lose your place.

When you're done cooking, hover over the pinned recipe in the list and click the x to un-pin the recipe.

Note From the main recipes list, you can also pin recipes by dragging and dropping them into the left sidebar.

Gestures & Keyboard Shortcuts

Categorizing Recipes

Paprika allows you to organize recipes into categories to make them easier to manage.

Assign a Recipe to a Category

To edit a recipe's categories, navigate into the recipe and press the Edit button in order to edit the recipe. From here, press the Categories button to access the recipe's categories. You can check one (or more) categories to associate with the recipe. Press the Save button when you are done.

Shortcut From the main recipes listing, you can drag and drop a recipe row into a category. This allows you to quickly assign categories to a recipe without having to open up the recipe itself.

Adding a Category

You can add a category by pressing the + button in the categories toolbar.

Optional To create a subcategory, first select the parent category and then press the + button. A new subcategory will be added to the parent category. You can also drag-and-drop to move categories into and out of subcategories.

Editing Categories

To edit a category, simply double-click it. If you would like to delete the category, highlight it and press the Delete button on your keyboard, or right-click the category and press Delete.

If you have Alphabetize Categories turned off in your settings, you can also drag and drop to rearrange the category order.

Built-In Categories

There are 5 built-in categories. These categories cannot be removed and provide special ways to view your recipes:

Paprika's built in web browser lets you easily search the internet for your favorite recipes and save recipes from many different websites.

Using the Browser

The upper toolbar contains a combined address bar and search bar, and buttons for the standard browser actions: back, forward, reload, and stop.

Type a URL into the address bar to navigate to that page (ex: 101cookbooks.com), or type in a search term to perform a Google Recipe Search. (ex: beet salad).

The Bookmarks button displays your current bookmarks. From there you can load a bookmark into the browser, edit a bookmark, and add new bookmarks to the list. Bookmarks sync with other cloud data.

The lower toolbar displays tools for saving recipes.

Clipping Recipes Online

Paprika supports clipping recipes from hundreds of different recipe sites. In order to clip a recipe:

1. Use the web browser to browse to a recipe you would like to save.
2. Press the Save Recipe button in the lower right corner of the toolbar.

3. Paprika will attempt to clip the recipe from the page. Press the Save button to save it.
4. If Paprika cannot figure out how to clip the recipe, it will display an error message. You can then use the manual clipboard tools (described next) to clip the recipe manually.

Manually Saving Recipes Using the Clipboard Tools

If Paprika wasn't able to clip the recipe for you, or only partially clipped the recipe, you can use the clipboard toolbar at the bottom to manually copy/paste the recipe information from any website.

To use the clipboard tools:

1. First, find the name of the recipe on the website.

2. Use your mouse to highlight the name.
3. Tap the Name button in the clipboard toolbar. The selected text will be copied into the Name field.

4. Repeat the same process with the Ingredients, Directions, and any other fields you would like to capture. You can expand the window to reveal the extra fields.
5. To save an image, right-click on it, then select Copy Image from the popup that appears.

6. When you've copied all the fields you would like to save, press Create Recipe to transfer all of your copied information into a new recipe.

Tips

• You can press the Reset button in order to clear your copied selections and try again.
• You can press any of the Name, Ingredients, Directions, etc buttons at the bottom to reveal the existing text that you have copied into them. From there you can also freely make changes to the text.
• If text already exists in a field when you tap the button, the current selection will be appended to the existing text.

Paprika's grocery list makes it easy to shop for your recipes. You can add entire recipes to the grocery list, as well as your own custom items.

When you open the grocery list, you will see the name of each recipe that has been added to the grocery list in the left pane, and the list of ingredients in the right pane.

By default, your grocery list will be sorted into aisles based on the type of ingredient. For example, milk will be placed into the Dairy aisle, and spinach will be placed under Produce.

If you have Entire Grocery List selected, the grocery list will attempt to consolidate similar items with one another. For example, if one recipe calls for 2 eggs, and another recipe calls for 3 eggs, the consolidated listing will display 5 eggs total.

Note You can turn off both the the grocery list aisle sorting and consolidation features in the Settings panel if you do not find them useful. If you turn off sorting by aisle, your grocery list will be sorted by recipe instead.

Adding Ingredients

Adding a Recipe to the Grocery List

To add an entire recipe to the grocery list, open the recipe and press the Shopping Cart button in the toolbar.

An ingredients pane will pop up displaying that recipe's ingredient list. Here you can check/uncheck ingredients before they are added to the grocery list.

(For example, if you already have salt at home, you can uncheck it before adding the recipe to the grocery list.)

Note Ingredients you have added to your Pantry will be automatically unchecked for you.

Once you have the correct ingredients checked, press the Add button to add those ingredients to the grocery list.

Shortcut You can also add recipes to the grocery list from the main recipes listing, by right-clicking on a recipe and selecting Add to Grocery List.

Adding a Custom Item to the Grocery List

Custom items can be added to the grocery list by pressing the + button in the upper right corner of the screen.

If you are adding a common grocery item, the aisle will be automatically selected for you when you are done. You can also right-click on the item to set a specific aisle.

Editing the Grocery List

Editing Grocery List Items

To edit a grocery list item, double-click on it. You can also right-click on the item if you want to change its aisle.

Removing Items from the Grocery List

You can remove individual items from the grocery list by highlighting them and pressing the Delete button on your keyboard. You can also right-click on an item and select Delete.

Note You can delete multiple items at once by holding down Shift or Command and clicking to select multiple items.

Alternatively, you can remove an entire recipe from the grocery list by selecting the recipe in the left pane and pressing Delete.

Finally, you can clear the entire list using the Clear Grocery List action described next.

Using the Grocery List

Marking Items as Purchased

Mark an item as purchased simply by clicking within the checkbox. A checkmark will appear to indicate that the item has been purchased. You can mark the item as unpurchased by clicking it once more.

Filtering Grocery List Items

You can filter grocery list items according to whether they are purchased or unpurchased using segmented control in the toolbar. (When you are shopping you may find it easiest to select: To Buy, to only show the unpurchased items left on your grocery list.)

Grocery List Actions

You can access these actions by pressing the actions button in the toolbar.

Using the Pantry

The pantry can be accessed by selecting the Pantry option in the main menu.

Use the pantry to keep track of common ingredients you already have at home, such as: salt, pepper, flour, sugar, etc.

To add an item to the pantry, press the + button and use the search bar to find the ingredient to add. Press the Add button to add it to your pantry.

Ingredients placed in your pantry will automatically be unchecked when you add recipes or meal plans to your grocery list.

Note The pantry is currently limited to pre-defined ingredients, however we are planning to make it more customizable in the future.

Paprika comes with a built-in meal planner that can be used to create weekly meal plans.

Switching Views

Use the segmented control at the top to switch between the monthly view and the weekly view. Use whichever view you prefer most.

Monthly View

The monthly view shows an entire month's worth of meals at once. Use the < and > buttons to switch between months.

Shortcut Alternatively, you can swipe left and right between months to navigate to the previous or next month.

Weekly View

The weekly view displays a week's worth of meals at a time. To change the displayed week, press the < and > buttons to move forward or back a week.

Shortcut You can also swipe left and right on your trackpad to navigate to the previous or next week.

You can also choose a specific week by clicking on the dropdown arrow next to the current week, and using the calendar control to highlight a different week.

Adding a Meal

Adding meals can be done from meal planner, or directly from the recipe screen.

From the Meal Planner

To add a meal from the planner, press the + button.

1. Choose between adding a Recipe, a Note, or an entire Menu.
2. Depending on your selection:
   1. Recipe - Choose a recipe.
   2. Note - Type in a note.
   3. Menu - Select a menu.
3. Choose a date for your meal.
4. Choose the meal type (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack).
5. Press Save.

Drag and Drop from the Recipes Sidebar

You can also directly drag-and-drop recipes onto the meal planner using the recipes sidebar.

Press the Show Recipes button to reveal the recipes sidebar if it is hidden.

Then simply find a recipe you like, and drag-and-drop it onto the desired day.

From the Recipe Screen

Open a recipe, and then press the Calendar button in the toolbar to add that recipe as a new meal.

Select the date for this meal, and then the meal type (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack), and then press Save.

Editing Meals

Changing a Meal's Date or Type

Double-click on a meal in order to edit an existing meal. Use the popup which appears to change the meal's date or type. Press Save when you are done.

Note You can also right-click and select Edit.

Deleting Meals

Select one (or more) meals, and right-click on them. Press Delete from the popup menu to delete those meals.

Moving or Copying Meals

Meals can be moved around via drag-and-drop. If you would like to copy them instead of moving them, hold down Alt while you are dragging a meal.

You can also select one (or more) meals, and then right-click and press Copy to copy them to the clipboard, and the right-click on the desired date in the calendar and press Paste.

Meal Planner Actions

These actions are accessed by pressing the Actions button in the upper left toolbar.

For each action, you can choose whether you want to perform the action on the entire month or week, or only on the meals you have currently selected.

Using Menus

You can create reusable menus from your favorite meals.

Menus can be accessed by selecting the Menus option in the main menu.

To add a new menu, + button and enter in a name (and an optional note).

Select the new menu item to open it, and then tap on the lower + button in the meals list to add items to it. Like the meal planner, you can choose between adding recipes, or adding notes.

Shortcut You can also use the recipes sidebar to drag-and-drop recipes directly into the menu.

Once a menu is created, it can be added to the meal planner. When you add a menu to the meal planner, all of the recipes and notes in the menu are added to the day you select.

The settings panel allows you to configure Paprika's default behavior.

It also provides access to Papika's syncing features.

Accessing the Settings Panel

Paprika's settings panel can be accessed by navigating to Paprika -> Preferences in the menu bar.

List of Settings

Paprika Cloud Sync

What is Paprika Cloud Sync?

Paprika Cloud Sync is a free online backup and syncing service for your recipe collection. With the exception of the available space on your device, there is no limit to how many recipes you can store, or to how many devices can use the same account.

Note Paprika Cloud Sync is different than Apple's iCloud, although if you'd like you can use the same credentials for both, but you will need to create a separate Paprika Cloud Sync account through the Settings panel of Paprika.

What does it do?

Paprika Cloud Sync will automatically back up your recipes, categories, bookmarks, groceries, and meals to our cloud servers, ensuring that your recipe collection is always safely backed up.

You can also use it to keep Paprika's data synced with other devices.

How much does it cost?

Paprika Cloud Sync is free.

Accessing Paprika Cloud Sync

Paprika Cloud Sync can be accessed by pressing the Sync button in the upper left corner of the screen. It can also be accessed via the Cloud Sync option in the Settings panel.

Creating an Account

You'll create one Paprika Cloud Sync account for all devices sharing the same recipe collection. You can do this through the settings pane of any version of Paprika that you have purchased, and then log in to that same account on all other versions of Paprika.

To create an account, open the Settings panel, and then select Cloud Sync from the list of options. Then select Create Account.

Enter in the email address and password you would like to use for this account.

Logging In

If you already have an account, you can log back into it using the Log In button on the sync screen.

Managing your Account

After logging in, you can manage your account and sync status from the Cloud Sync settings pane.

Quick Sync

If you are logged in, the Sync button on the recipes screen acts as a shortcut button that will initiate a new sync.

Manual Backup

It is possible to import and export manual backup files in Paprika.

Warning These backups are not meant to be shared between cloud sync accounts; they are meant to manually backup a single account's collection. Use the .paprikarecipes export to share your collection with others.

To create a new backup

1. Go to File -> Backup -> Create Backup.
2. Choose the location to save your backup file.

To restore a backup

1. Go to File -> Backup -> Restore Backup.
2. You will be prompted to select a backup to restore from.
3. Paprika will restart itself in order to perform the restore.

Note We highly recommend using Paprika Cloud Sync as your primary backup mechanism, instead of relying on manual backups. It's a lot easier to use. Once you set up your sync account, your recipes will be backed up automatically, and you don't have to worry about managing your backups manually.

Import Recipes

Paprika can import recipe databases from several other applications. To perform an import:

1. Go to File -> Import in the menu bar.
2. Select the file to be imported.

The currently supported file types are:

YAML Format

YAML is a simple, plain text file with sections delimited by key-value pairs. To indicate a block of text, use an initial pipe character, as shown in directions and ingredients. Consistent indenting should be used, but the order of the fields does not matter, and most are optional with the exception of the name, ingredients and directions. It is recommended that you use an online YAML validator such as this one to validate your file if you're experiencing difficulties importing.

Note We've added several new fields: on_favorites takes a yes value and indicates that the recipe should be added to your favorites. categories is a YAML list; the category will be created if it does not exist. photo is a base-64 encoded image. All these new fields are optional.

name: My Tasty Recipe
servings: 4-6 servings
source: Food Network
source_url: http://www.google.com
prep_time: 10 min
cook_time: 30 min
on_favorites: yes
categories: [Dinner, Holiday]
nutritional_info: 500 calories
difficulty: Easy
rating: 5
notes: |
  This is delicious!!!
photo: (base-64 encoded image)
ingredients: |
  1/2 lb meat
  1/2 lb vegetables
  salt
  pepper
  2 tbsp olive oil
  4 cups flour
directions: |
  Mix things together.
  Eat.
  Tasty.
  Yum yum yum.
      

- name: My Tasty Recipe
  servings: 4-6 servings
  source: Food Network
  source_url: http://www.google.com
  prep_time: 10 min
  cook_time: 30 min
  nutritional_info: 500 calories
  on_favorites: yes
  categories: [Dinner, Holiday]
  difficulty: Easy
  rating: 5
  notes: |
    This is delicious!!!
  ingredients: |
    1/2 lb meat
    1/2 lb vegetables
    salt
    pepper
    2 tbsp olive oil
    4 cups flour
  directions: |
    Mix things together.
    Eat.
    Tasty.
    Yum yum yum.
    
- name: My Tasty Recipe 2
  servings: 4-6 servings
  source: Food Network
  source_url: http://www.google.com
  prep_time: 10 min
  cook_time: 30 min
  nutritional_info: 500 calories
  difficulty: Easy
  rating: 5
  photo: | (base-64 encoded image)
  notes: |
    This is delicious!!!
  ingredients: |
    1/2 lb meat
    1/2 lb vegetables
    salt
    pepper
    2 tbsp olive oil
    4 cups flour
  directions: |
    Mix things together.
    Eat.
    Tasty.
    Yum yum yum.
      

Export Recipes

Paprika currently offers two different export formats:

How to export your recipes

1. Go to File -> Export in the menu bar.
2. Select the destination folder you would like the export to be saved to.
3. Choose a category to export. By default All Recipes will be selected, but you can choose to export a different category if you would like.
4. Choose either the HTML or Paprika Recipe Format.
5. Press Export.